Three years after acquiring US-based Cuberg, Swedish battery maker Northvolt has decided to shut down the California unit and move future lithium-metal battery R&D to Sweden.
Marija Maisch
Image: Northvolt
From pv magazine ESS News
Northvolt, Europe’s battery manufacturing torchbearer, has announced the decision to shift development of its next-generation lithium-metal battery technology from California to its R&D campus, Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, Sweden.
To date, Northvolt has been engaged in the development of energy-dense lithium-metal battery technology for aviation applications and high-performance vehicles at its Cuberg subsidiary, based in San Leandro, California.
The Stanford University spinoff has developed a 20 Ah commercial-format lithium-metal pouch cell with an energy density of 405 Wh/kg. It has integrated those cells into an aviation-specific battery module offering gravimetric and volumetric energy density of 280 Wh/kg and 320 Wh/L, respectively.
Now, Cuberg employees are being encouraged to apply to open positions matching their skillset within Northvolt.